Gun production in US sets new record with 30 percent increase

Gun makers in the United States produced a record number of weapons in 2012, as new government data suggests Democratic presidents may actually be a boon to firearms manufacturers.

According to numbers released by US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,
Firearms, and Explosives, more than 8.5 million guns were
produced in 2012, compared to about 6.5 million in 2011. That’s a
31 percent increase, and the highest number recorded since the
agency began tracking gun production in 1986.

Interestingly, a 2013 study by the National Opinion Research
Center found that gun ownership per household has actually
declined to its lowest level in more than 30 years, so what
accounts for the high sales? According to one gun advocate, it’s
President Barack Obama.

“Barack Obama is the stimulus package for the firearms
industry,” Dave Workman, senior editor of Gun Mag, a print
and online publication of the 2nd Amendment Foundation, told
Bloomberg News. “The greatest irony of the Obama
administration is that the one industry that he may not have
really liked to see healthy has become the healthiest industry in
the United States.”

As noted by Bloomberg, more than 26 million were produced during
Obama’s first term alone. Former President George W. Bush, a
Republican, was in office for eight years before 28 million guns
were manufactured.

Bill Clinton’s Democratic presidency, which saw the government
mandate background checks for gun purchases, also boosted
firearms makers, who produced 33 million firearms over eight
years. During George H.W. Bush’s one term, 16 million guns were
made.

Even gun control advocates find some truth to the idea that
Democratic presidents help cause a surge in gun sales. According
to Brian Malte of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, gun
advocates have “demonized” Obama in order to sell more firearms
to a smaller consumer base.

“We see the percentage of households owning guns
declining,” he said to Bloomberg, “and that indicates
that those who already own guns are buying more of them.”

Obama generally avoided the gun control debate during his first
term, but he came out in favor of reforms after the Sandy Hook
Elementary School massacre that saw 20 children killed by a
gunman.

Although Congress has failed to pass legislation on the federal
level, some states have forged ahead with their own gun control
initiatives. California, for example, recently signaled its
intention to implement its “microstamping” gun law, which
requires manufacturers to imprint gun data on bullet casings when
they’re fired. This has caused some gun makers to pull various models
from the market.

Regardless, the latest government data seems to dovetail with the
financial results of gun makers like Smith & Wesson, which
experienced record sales during its 2013 fiscal year. As RT
reported last year, the manufacturer said its
sales of $588 million were a 43 percent increase over the
previous fiscal year.

Whether or not such high-level sales can continue remains to be
seen, but background check data seems to suggest 2013 it’s
possible. The FBI conducted more than 21 million background
checks related to gun sales in 2013, a seven percent increase
over 2012.